No. 12 Penn State women’s volleyball beat Michigan State 3-1 (25-17, 22-25, 25-22, 25-16) Sunday afternoon at Rec Hall in the program’s annual THON match.
Kash Williams led the Nittany Lions (13-2, 2-2 Big Ten) with 15 kills in the win, tying Michigan State’s Aliyah Moore for the match high. Williams hit .310 and added three digs and three blocks after being in the starting lineup against the Spartans (10-5, 1-3 Big Ten).
Penn State hit .237 as a team and .370 in the deciding fourth set, but was outblocked by the Spartans 10-6. Leisa Elisaia had a match-high 41 assists, seven digs, three kills, three aces, and a block. Zoe Weatherington joined Williams in double figures with 11 kills.
Junior libero Maddy Bilinovic led the Nittany Lions with 10 digs in the win, while freshman defensive specialist Mandi Morioka made her first career start and recorded six digs and an ace. Fellow freshman Alexa Markley had six kills, a dig, and a block as one of three Penn State substitutes, joining Weatherington and Gillian Grimes (two digs).
Taylor Trammell and Allie Holland combined for 13 kills and only three attack errors on 30 swings between them. Holland paced Penn State’s defense with four total blocks. The Nittany Lions entered Sunday’s match tallying the second-most blocks per set (3.07) in all of Division I volleyball.
The Nittany Lions improved to 53-7 in the all-time series against Michigan State and have now won 16 straight versus the Spartans. Penn State will travel to Columbus Friday for a 6:30 p.m. match against No. 6 Ohio State on Big Ten Network.
Schumacher-Cawley’s opening statement:
“As always, thanks for coming, you guys. We appreciate all the help you give women’s volleyball here. We’re happy with this win. We’ll take any win in the Big Ten, and onto the next.”
How does it feel to get this win today after your previous two losses?
KSC: “Well, like I said, I tell these guys every day, ‘Winning is hard. This conference is hard.’ It feels great to win. It feels great to be back at home. I think the team really embraced being back at Rec Hall. I thought we did some good things, saw some new people on the floor. It feels great to win.”
Despite having 23 attack errors, you guys were still able to win. Do you think, on the defensive side of things, you guys still have to improve? Or are you guys at the peak?
Weatherington: “Oh, no. We’re definitely not at the peak. We’re never that. But I think we know that volleyball is a game of errors. It’s never going to be perfect. But we work hard. When you have 23 errors, that just means you have to do 23 points better, if that makes sense. And I think that we did that tonight.”
The offense was very good tonight. What can you guys say about that?
Holland: “I think the offense was great tonight. Volleyball is a game of errors, so we have to make up for it where we can. I thought that the passing was great. I was able to get up in the air, and Leisa was feeding me some good balls. So I think credit to the passers and to the setters for that, too.”
Zoe, what have you learned from Allie and coach about the THON initiative? What did it mean to you playing in today’s match?
Weatherington: “I learned that it’s really fun. I’ve seen videos from the past years and stuff. I’m excited to choreograph some stuff and get all gussied up for the kids. I know that you guys raise a lot of money, and that’s what really matters, to support the kids and support cancer research. I’m excited.”
Allie, what are some things you like about celebrating with your teammates on the court?
Holland: “I mean, I think our chemistry is great, so I think the celebrations are some of the most fun parts of our game. That’s what’s bringing us up when we’re making errors, long travel weekends, being with the girls and being able to just go crazy on the court is just so fun.”
What was something you guys learned from this game? What were some takeaways you want to focus on in the next few practices?
Holland: “I think a big takeaway for us is we’re just never settled. It’s hard to win, so we’re excited to have this win, but we’re not settling. We’re coming in on our next practice and we’re going 110 percent.”
Kash, you had 15 kills today. How does that feel to be such a crucial player for this team?
Williams: “I just feel like I always have my teammates’ back — the team, the staff — and I feel like they can count on me when the time comes. And it feels good. I wouldn’t have those kills without great passes and great sets.”
Coach, how would you assess the team’s blocking? It’s been pretty good so far this season but not so great today maybe.
KSC: “Yeah, I think Michigan State’s a very good team. I think they found ways to score. They hit high-hands and a little bit different tempo. I thought we kind of rallied and regrouped, and snagged a few blocks there along the way. But that’s something that’s an everyday movement, talk that we have to work on. We’ll get back to watching some film and seeing where we can improve.”